A happy baby is a healthy baby! Making your baby laugh and smile is one of the best feelings you can have. Of course baby humor is not complex. They will laugh at the simplest of things. In my experience raising children I found a variety of ways to make them laugh; most of the time by accident. Here are a few fun ways you can make your baby laugh:
- Hair flip – The first time my daughter laughed I was standing in the kitchen making a meal. I had her up on the counter strapped in her baby seat when I dropped something on the floor. I had longer hair at the time and when I bent over to pick up whatever it was my hair flipped. That was it; she was dying laughing so of course I did it again and again. This was the start of our adventure in finding out what made my baby smile and laugh.
- Ripping/crumpling paper – Both of my children loved it when I ripped paper in half. I found this out by accident when I was cutting coupons. My daughter was sitting in her little bouncy chair next to me and when I could not quite get the scissors to cooperate I ripped out the coupon. She went crazy laughing. I tore newspaper in half, printer paper and more. Often times I could just reach for the paper and she would start smiling. My son liked me to tear paper too but he really laughed when I crumpled it up into balls. Crunching and crumpling the paper set him off. I do not know if it was the sound or the action that they loved but it was a hit. Even when they got older and went to visit their grandpa they laughed when he pretended to shred paper and made the exact sound without actually ripping anything. They thought it was a great magic trick.
- Play fetch – At one point my daughter became amused by playing fetch with me. She dropped food off her high chair and I bent down to pick it up. Well, that was the start of a long night. After that she would drop or throw items and laugh as I picked them up. I guess I played puppy for her or something. While this behavior should not be encouraged you can find other ways of using it. You can have the baby drop items into a bucket or toss a soft ball towards you depending on their motor skills.
- Funny noises – Speaking of noises, babies love funny noises. From air planes to cars to cows and other animals you can’t go wrong with making noises. It is a great teaching tool as well. After all, how long are they going to let you moo and crow at them? Play with toy cars and mini animals, or just make funny noises and faces while you are in line at the store or waiting at the pediatrician’s office. It is a great way to amuse your child without any toys necessary.
- Ah boo – Like peek-a-boo, this is one is a child favorite. Instead of hiding your face you just sort of lunge forward and say “ah boo” with a big smile on your face. At first the babies kind of draw back like “what the heck are you doing, crazy person?” but after a few repetitions they get started laughing. I think even they have a concept of how silly you look! Another variation of this is to hide around a doorway and pop out saying something silly. Kids love this!
These are just a few fun ideas to make your baby laugh and smile. There is nothing like the laughter of a child to make your day brighter!